Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds recently shared a valuable lesson imparted to him by renowned filmmaker Richard Curtis, known for romantic comedy classics like “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and “Love Actually.”
Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s CMO Summit, Reynolds recalled, “I remember he once said to me when I was very young, I was like 40. He said every character has to have a beginning, a middle and an end. [The advice] really kind of stuck with me.”
The ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ actor elaborated on how he has applied this wisdom in the advertising space while promoting various brands. He mentioned, “I sort of brought that even into that space with, ‘How do you do that in 30 seconds or 15 seconds as well?’. I really do believe that too much time and too much money will murder creativity; it will just kill it.”
Before and after referencing the ‘Notting Hill’ screenwriter, Reynolds discussed the strategic use of humor in advertising. He stated, “Well, humor and emotion are the two feelings that I think travel the most,” adding, “Humor works so well, so does emotion. But if you get them together, it really, really just creates togetherness. It creates that feeling that we’re all right now, we’re not divided.”
Reynolds also spoke about his approach to “soft parenting” his four children with wife Blake Lively. “Soft parenting is new, right? I didn’t have that,” he explained. “If you’re just in a place of safety, you make great decisions. You really kind of work from a place that isn’t fight or flight. You actually get to be thoughtful, and you get to think about everybody in the room.”
The couple shares four children: James, Inez, Betty, and Olin.